Understanding how the immune system ages
The EC-funded T-CIA project studied the ageing process from the perspective of T lymphocytes. By comparing samples from young, old, healthy and sick donors, project partners aimed to pinpoint the molecular profile of healthy ageing. Even though ageing does imply that our immune systems overcome infections, one way or another, aged individuals are not immune per se to infections they might have previously combated. The reason behind this event is that although memory cells do increase with age, immunity does not improve. Project partner Jönköping University focused on the study of the immune risk phenotype (IRP) concept. Specifically, researchers examined how the IRP could be used to predict immune responses to specific pathogenic challenges. The expansion of CD8 T clones occurs as a result of ageing, possibly as a compensatory mechanism to control latent infections. However, once clonal exhaustion sets in, the immune responses are nonetheless significantly affected. Linking IRP to specific individuals could allow for early interventions and health-benefiting approaches, leading to healthy ageing.
